‘Virasat Art and Heritage Festival 2024’ begins in Doon

Uttarakhand’s well-known cultural program ‘Virasat’ – Art and Heritage Festival 2024 commenced in Dehradun from October 15. The event was inaugurated by Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj with the lighting of the lamp at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium (Kaulagarh Road) Dehradun. The fortnight long annual event will be held in Dehradun from October 15 to 29, 2024.

After formally inaugurating the Virasat Mahotsav 2024, Tourism Minister expressed his views and said that even before the formation of Uttarakhand state, Virasat Mahotsav has been organized every year, this event has been spreading the splendor of its events for the last 30 years and has made its mark as a cultural heritage all over the world. Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that in today’s event, the famous Chholiya dance of Uttarakhand has been performed which teaches human chain. He also said that Chholiya dance tells the war skills. Linking the dhol of Uttarakhand to the culture, he said that the dhol player is actually a player coming out of the Samaveda. Many knowledge is contained in this Dhol Sagar. On this occasion, he also talked about promoting homestays for tourists and said that today 5000 homestays have been registered. We should move forward with such homestays so that tourism can be promoted. In the program, Geeta Khanna, President, Child Welfare Commission, Uttarakhand, Mrs. R.S. Narayani, Executive Director, Head of Corporate Administration from ONGC were also present. In the program, RK Singh, General Secretary of Virasat Mahotsav, while expressing his views, said that the REACH organization is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Virasat by organizing this event. He said that by organizing these events, Virasat is getting continuous strength and its light and flame will continue to reach the whole world.

The cultural program started on a grand note with the popular Chholiya dance of Uttarakhand, in which eminent artists of Uttarakhand gave performances and this performance enthralled the people. Chholiya is a traditional folk dance that originated in the Kumaon division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and the western province of Nepal. Today it has become a symbol of Kumaoni and Far Western culture. It is originally a sword dance accompanying the wedding procession but now it is performed on many auspicious occasions. It is especially popular in Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh districts of Kumaon division and Doti, Baitadi and Dharchula of Nepal. The history of this sword dance is more than a thousand years old and it is rooted in the martial traditions of the Kumaoni people and the Khas people.

It originated from the warring Kshatriyas of Kumaon, the Khas and Katyuris, when marriages were performed at the point of swords. With warlike music, armed with swords, they dance in a completely synchronized manner, engaging in mock battles with their fellow dancers. Holding triangular red flags, waving their swords, with fierce expressions on their faces, they give the impression of warriors going to war, accompanied by musicians and sword dancers. This folk dance was earlier performed using traditional instruments like dhol, damou, nagada, etc. This time, along with traditional instruments, Casio was also used to make the performance more entertaining.

In the second presentation of the cultural program, Dr. N. Rajam and Ragini Shankar presented violin recital in a duet. Padma Bhushan N. Rajam and her grand-daughter Ragini Shankar started the program with Raga Jog in Vilambit Ek Taal. They also presented a famous composition in Raga Jog ‘Sajan More Ghar Aaye’. They concluded the program with Raga Bhairavi.

Many personalities have been registering their presence as eminent guests in the Virasat Mahotsav every year, among which the name of Dr. N. Rajam is prominent. Dr. Rajam is one of the finest and most outstanding artists in the field of music. Her magical fingers mesmerize the melodious strings of the violin and create a divine and sublime atmosphere. She established a new dimension in the world of classical music by introducing “Gaayak Ang”, a technique that presents a vocal style of music on the violin, which has made her globally famous as a singing violinist. Coming from a family of traditional musicians, she mastered the Carnatic style at a very young age and received intensive training for 15 years from her father Vidwan Shri A Narayana Iyer, who was an excellent teacher of music and a great visionary. Later she ventured into Hindustani style under the tutelage of Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, a pioneer among musicians and made a path-breaking debut through her Gayaki Ang. She has performed in many prestigious music festivals across the globe and has been loved by audiences across the globe. Apart from being a fine artist, Dr. Rajam has also served as the Dean at Banaras Hindu University for 40 years and has also been conferred the title of “Emeritus Professor” in recognition of her outstanding talent and service to music. She has been the recipient of countless prestigious awards, including one of India’s highest civilian honours, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the President of India, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Fellowship, Kalidas Samman, etc. In the same sequence, coming from a family with a musical tradition for seven generations, her grand-daughter Ragini Shankar started learning Hindustani (North Indian) classical music on violin at the tender age of 4 years under the tutelage of her eminent grandmother Padma Bhushan Dr. N. Rajam and her role model mother Dr. Sangeeta Shankar, one of India’s leading violinists. She has performed at many prestigious music festivals in India, Europe, North America and South East Asia. Known for her ability to reproduce vocal music on the violin, she has collaborated on musical projects with acclaimed artists from various genres. Ragini and her sister Nandini Shankar were signed by Decca Records US, a part of Universal Music Group, for a full-length music album for their fusion ensemble ‘Tarana’. She has been awarded the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award and the Jashn-e-Youngistan Award presented by the Vice President of India.